


It Just Had to Be Pirates

by AvatarofBahamut (LittleBlackDragon)



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Colonial Times, F/M, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Mild Adult Themes, Time Travel, Undecided Relationship(s), Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-08
Updated: 2013-12-13
Packaged: 2017-12-31 20:23:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleBlackDragon/pseuds/AvatarofBahamut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paige Churchill was beginning a new chapter in her life with her family back together again, but little did she know that this new chapter began with a strange dog and and sudden, unexplained event that left her stranded in the 18th century Caribbean. Perhaps her way home lies in the hands of a mysterious doctor with many secrets and a roguish pirate by the name of Edward Kenway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Stray Dog Leads One Astray

AvatarofBahamut(LittleBlackDragon)- the Author of I Should Have Stayed In Bed Presents

It Just Had to Be Pirates

_An Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag Fanfiction_

The following fanfiction is rated T for ages 13+, however this is likely to change depending upon the author’s discretion. This story mostly has earned its rating for violence and implied and/or mild adult themes.

…

Chapter 1: A Stray Dog Leads One Astray

                It was a chilly night in February. Snow was still thick on the ground, and even this late it seemed as though more might be coming. Soft grey clouds blanketed the sky, and small flakes of white drifted down from above. A nearby street lamp flickered, with a young woman sitting under the bench beneath it. She shivered, watching the road outside a small, shoddy apartment building.

                As the snow settled on her dusty mauve coat, she brushed her arms lightly to make the snow melt and to prevent herself from becoming cold. She looked at her watch, tapping her finger on the face as her blue eyes came to meet the road once more. She had been waiting a good fifteen minutes outside, wondering if the person she was expecting would be arriving soon.

                The area echoed with the crackling of loose trash, the buzz of televisions inside homes, and the gravely noise of cars occasionally making their way down the street. That night, the woman could smell the distinct scent of motor oil from a car passing by that needed its muffler looked at. It was actually something quite familiar to her, though she never found it to be the most pleasant thing.

                Her eyes fell to her watch again and she shook her head. She pulled out a cell phone, checking for missed calls or messages, but there were none to speak of.  She sighed, frustrated as the person she was supposed to meet was meant to be there ten minutes before. But, perhaps she was being impatient and unforgiving. And today of all days should not be one for her to worry or stew over the smallest of mistakes and details.

                Surely enough, a car turned the corner, a refurbished model with a custom dark green paint job and a decorative spoiler on top of the trunk. It belonged to the person she had been waiting for, and she was grateful that he had finally arrived. Despite having lived with it all her life, the Canadian cold never sat well with her.

                There was a pulse of sound coming from the car, one she associated with the loud volume of the radio playing from within the vehicle. The window of the passenger’s seat rolled down, and she was met with the loud screech of a guitar solo blasting from the speakers. However, the din of music was abruptly cut off, sparing the woman’s ears.

                “Finally! I told you three times to turn that blasted chaos you call music down, Clay!”

                A bass male voice came from inside the car, replied to by a much higher tenor one.

                “Look, I couldn’t hear you, okay? Besides, Paige doesn’t mind so I’m not used to having to turn down the volume.”

                “Ergh…this is why I’m the one who enlisted while you stayed home,” the bass voice replied facetiously. The woman stood up, putting her phone away in the pocket of her coat as she approached the open window.

                “Baby sister! Sorry we were late, I had to finish a repair for a guy who came in at the last minute,” the tenor voice greeted her.

                “More like he wanted to finish shooting the breeze with one of his motor-head buddies.”

                The voices belonged to two men, both older brothers of the young woman, Paige. The deeper voice belonged to the eldest brother, Liam, the traditionally dutiful first child.

                He emerged from the car, his long, grey duster jacket gracing the snowy street. He was a well-built, strong man, his head cleanly shaven. However, Paige still remembered their days as children, when he had the same coppery red hue as his little sister. However, his was straighter, having only a slight curl at the top, while Paige’s hair, though kept short, always had messy swirls. But, even with the hair gone, he was still the same picture of a giant that was her brother.

                Her eyes watered a bit, having laid eyes on him for the first time in years.

                “Well, I guess it’s official. My term is done, and I finally get to come home for good this time,” he readily embraced his sister in a tight hug, smiling gently and thankfully at the reunion.

                “I am so glad to see you, Paige,” he squeezed her before letting her go, he looked her up and down, shaking his head.

                “You’re getting to be quite tall there, sister.”

                Paige let out a nervous laugh. It was true she was taller than most women, something she preferred not to think about as it made her feel out of place.

                “I guess we have that in common now as well,” he laughed.

                “Yeah, well I got the short end of the stick!,” replied her other brother from inside the car. The two of them peered in to see the disgruntled face of the middle sibling as he slouched in his chair.

                “Hey, Clay, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, trust me,” Liam replied cheekily.

                Clay was indeed shorter than both Paige and Liam, despite being second in age. He hid underneath a bulky padded green coat, stroking his dark beard.

                “Well, I suppose I was the brother born with the charm and good looks…”

                “Hey!”

                Paige shook her head, smiling. Clay tugged on his white wool cap before tapping his fingers on the wheel of the car.

                “So, are we going to celebrate our reunion properly or aren’t we?”

                Liam sighed.

                “True. We’re going to Jen’s for a good meal and a pleasant start to the next chapter of our lives!,” Liam said as he got back into the car. Paige followed, sliding into the back seat.

                It really was the first time in years the three siblings were together. Their lives had kept them apart; Liam had gone into military service overseas, following in the footsteps of their late parents, which made him only reachable in few and far between ways until now. Paige had been busy with her studies at the local university, and Clay was earning a living as a mechanic at a local automobile repair shop. The last time they were really together like, this, Paige thought, was just before Liam enlisted. He was figuring out what he wanted to do with his life, while Clay and Paige were in high school and living with their paternal grandparents.

                “I am really glad to see the two of you, you know. It’s been too long,” she spoke as Clay began to turn the key to start car up again.

                “Haha! She speaks!,” Clay chuckled. Paige’s face turned red and she frowned.

                “Of course I do!”

                “We know,” replied Liam assuredly, playfully slapping his brother on the shoulder, “However, you’ve always been a rather quiet one, Paige.”

                She huffed.

                “I just don’t always have much to say.”

                Perhaps that wasn’t entirely the whole story, however. Paige was more of a thinking, introverted person. She thought quite a lot of things, and wondered about the world and all its mysteries. But, when it came time to speak, it was not always the easiest thing for her. She certainly enjoyed other people’s company; there was no question of that. But, when it came for her to speak with them, somehow she’d often be at a loss for words. It was because of this that she preferred to listen rather than speak. But, getting her to talk was something her friends and family had nudging her on for quite a long time.

                “Oh, I doubt that,” said Liam, “Maybe someday you’ll tell us just what goes on in that big brain of yours.”

                “Or maybe she’d just prefer to talk to her furry patients,” Clay joked.

                “It’s not the same,” Paige retorted.

                “Maybe, maybe not.”

                “You do have an affinity with animals, it’s a pretty inspired thing that you’re studying how to put that talent of yours to use,” Liam noted.

                “Veterinary medicine, yes,” Paige responded.

                “Kind of cheesy though, isn’t it?,” Clay mused, “Having a bit of luck with animals and then deciding it’s your calling in life?”

                “You have a talent with cars,” Paige replied.

                Clay laughed as the car started up and the three of them drove away down the street.

                “That’s true. I just seems a bit…hokey in your case. You know, you sometimes read those stories about people who are magically gifted with small innocent creatures like some Disney Princess…”

                Paige shook her head.

                “It’s not magic. I liked animals. So I learned about them, I spent time with them. I learned how to handle them.”

                Clay kept his eyes on the road, but listened, interested in how his sister would handle his comment.

                “And it’s not like I’m magically friends with every animal I meet.”

                “That so?”

                “Do you remember that story about the gerbil?,” Paige questioned him. Clay shook his head.

                “What gerbil?”

                “Last year, when the two of us go together for one weekend I told you about a gerbil I was taking care of…”

                “…And?”

                “…It bit my finger and tried to kick and scratch me, the little devil,” Paige scowled, remembering that moment in her studies with a marked dissatisfaction.

                “…And then there was Lyle the horse…dear god….I think the hatred was mutual there…”

                Liam actually found himself chuckling at her comment.

                “So, it’s a talent that developed through hard work.”

                “Yes, it is.”

                Clay smiled as he approached a stop light.

                “Fair enough. As for me, I was born with this magical mechanical expertise.”

                Liam rolled his eyes.

                “I’ll believe that when a pig does a swan dive into your bathtub.”

                Clay growled, annoyed.

                “You just made that up.”

                “Maybe I did,” said Liam smugly.

                Liam and Clay were always teasing one another, even as children, thought Paige. Perhaps some things about people never changed. While appearance might, and maybe even some aspects of a personality, at the core of the person was their truth and the very essence of what made them who they were.

                The car rolled on for a while, the road and the tires creating a soft humming sound. However, after some time, the three siblings were just a block or two away from their old favorite restaurant, Jen’s. It was more of a diner style place, quiet and out of the way with glowing blue neon lights. The scent of grilled meat and French fries was already starting to drift into the car, causing Paige’s stomach to growl with anticipation.

                “Well, now, your stomach sounds like it’s trying to tell you something, Paige.”

                Paige let out a soft laugh.

                “I guess I am pretty hungry.”

                “Indeed? Well, then let’s get in there and grab a both so we can get something to chow down on, huh?,” Clay rolled up a bit closer before picking a suitable parking space near the diner. The three of them got out, with Liam taking a big whiff of the delicious aromas coming from inside.

                “It’s good to be home,” he smiled contentedly.

                “You’ll be even more glad when you’ve gotten your belly full.”

                As Liam and Clay began another round of playfully snipping at one another, Paige caught wind of an odd sound not far off the right of the group. It sounded like a low whining, perhaps a whimpering. She turned her head, noticing a small black shadow coming from a nearby alleyway.  She watched the alley for a few seconds, the sound of her brother’s conversing becoming blocked out by the tightened focus of her curiosity.

                “Paige?”

                Liam noticed his youngest sibling’s slipping attention. That was when he noticed the small shadow as well. Clay looked around, wondering what had grabbed his sibling’s attention. That was when the figure emerged from the dark alleyway, a figure bearing a wet nose at the end of a long muzzle.            “Well, well, what do we have here?,” Liam asked aloud.

                The shadow belonged to a canine, two feet in height. It came out of the alleyway slowly, cautiously approaching the trio.

                “It’s a dog,” Clay replied, unimpressed.  Paige squinted, taking a closer look at the animal now approaching them. It had a collar, so it obviously belonged to somebody it thought. Then, she took note of the dog’s features. She wasn’t completely familiar with many dog breeds, but she was aware of commonalities among some.

                This dog had a short, fine coat of fur made of larges splashes of black trimmed with white. Its ears were flopped on either side of its wide head, and its slowly wagging tail was pointed towards the end. Its legs were muscular and straight, but its toes were curved inward somewhat like a cat. It looked up at the group, its small eyes bearing an expression of sweetness and curiosity.

                “I can see it’s a dog, Clay,” Liam shot back.

                “Looks like a foxhound of some sort,” Paige concluded aloud after giving it some thought, “Not sure what kind though. Still, what is it doing out here all by itself?”

                “It probably got away from its owner,” Liam answered thoughtfully. The tall man squatted down, opening his hand to offer it to the dog for it to sniff.

                “Maybe Paige should be the one to…”

                “It’s fine, Clay,” said Paige, “It doesn’t look hostile.”

                “Here boy…er…girl…” Liam struggled, “Umm…Maybe we should check the collar for a name or an address.”

                Paige nodded and was careful in approached the dog. She kneeled down, allowing the dog to sniff her. It did not seem frightened by the presence of her and her brothers. In fact, as soon as it seemed satisfied in investigating page, it rested its chin in the palm of her hand and looked up at her, letting out of huff that was reminiscent of a sigh.

                “Alright, buddy,” she spoke to it in a soft voice, “Do you have a name? Maybe an owner?”

                With her other hand she gently rotated the collar searching for a metal tag or something that could identify the dog. She realized the collar itself was made of bronze, loosely fitting around the dog’s neck. Paige tilted her head down, examining the dog’s collar more closely.

                “This is strange…”

                She felt something etched into the collar and looked down to see a name engraved into it.

                “Trusty,” Paige recited the name allowed. The dog perked up a bit, wagging its tail a little more vigorously. Clay shook his head.

                “What kind of a name is that?”

                “Well, I guess it’s his name,” Liam noted, seeing quickly an identifying characteristic that betrayed the dog’s gender, “He responded to it, or seemed to, anyhow.”

                Paige quickly looked over the dog again, noting its appearance.

                “I haven’t seen any missing pet posters for a dog like this,” Paige said, trying to think of anything about the dog was familiar. What perplexed her most was the strange collar, how it was made of unusual material for a dog collar. Even further still, upon inspection, there was nothing else other than the dog’s name. Or what she assumed was its name, based on the animal’s earlier reaction.

                The dog investigated the three siblings before returning to Paige and Liam, sitting attentively in front of them.

                “I couldn’t find an address on the collar,” she told them.

                “It’s possible the tags fell off,” Liam suggested.

                “We could take it to the local shelter. They can take care of it and we can get on with things,” Clay offered impatiently.

                “Well,” Paige thought aloud, “I would like to check the alley the dog came from just to be sure. For all we know, he could live nearby.”

                “I’ll help you look,” Liam proposed. Paige nodded in agreement. Clay shook his head.

                “Fine, I’ll go get a table. I don’t want the place getting packed so full that we have to wait in line for our food.”

                Clay went inside the diner, closing the door behind him.

                “Suit yourself,” Liam called back.

                Just then, the eldest sibling noticed that the dog was looking at Paige rather intently. He chuckled to himself.

                “Well, you really do have a way with animals, don’t you?”

                Paige looked back down at the dog, squatting with her knees bent.

                “I don’t know about this dog…Why does it have a collar made of bronze?”

                “It could be he has rather eccentric owners. It could be something else. Why knows?”

                “You’re probably correct,” Paige sighed, dissuading herself from thinking too much on the strange facts about this dog that she had observed.

                The dog inched closer to Paige before it stretched out a paw and tapped on her wrist. The creature then let out a guttural whine, still keeping its eyes fixated on the young woman. Paige reached out a hand to scratch the dog’s ear. It closed its eyes for a moment or two, only to shake its head and let out another while. It then let out two short barks before bouncing back to the ground.

                “Oh, did I do something wrong, boy?”

                The dog looked at her, briefly glancing over to the alleyway.

                “We should check the alleyway as you suggested. Maybe there’s a clue there we can use to get the dog home.”

                Paige heeded her brother’s words, looking in the direction of the alleyway. As she was about to stand up however, the dog stiffened, and in a second or two, it instantly bolted from the brother sister back down the alleyway.

                “Wait, come back, Trusty!”

                Paige quickly went after the canine, her physically more able brother easily able to keep up with her. She raced down to the entrance and turned the corner down the dark street. They followed the dog a ways, running to fast to notice how their surroundings had changed. Things had suddenly grown darker, with strips of clear light with a pale blue tinged lining dappled along the building walls. However, the eldest sibling eventually took notice of this and went grinding to a halt.

                “Paige, hold on, something funky is going on…”

                Paige stopped a few feet ahead of him, also starting to notice what was around them. The strange light rippled in the growing darkness that was around them. Paige looked up to see the sky become entirely black. However, she heard the dog barking nearby, mixed with loud whimpering and whining.

                “Trusty? Here boy…”

                She called for the dog, receiving whimpers and yelps in reply.

                There was then the sound of crashing waves, like the sound of the ocean was not far off. Liam could hear it also, and was disturbed by the sudden strange events that were occurring.

                “What in blazes is going on?,” her brother shook his head, his face twisted in confusion.

                “I don’t know,” Paige said, “I think we should get out of here once we find the dog…”

                “Are you sure? Maybe the dog will follow us.”

                The youngest sibling started to feel warm moisture pooling into her socks, looking down to realize her foot wear was suddenly soak with water. What was the sudden occurrence of the surreal? Had they walked right into some creepy place? She did not remember an alleyway in their hometown that made the sky turn black and was leaking water like a popped swimming pool, that was for sure.

                She could still hear the dog’s whines, making Paige indecisive about how she should proceed.

                “Paige?”

                “I have no idea…”

                Before she could finish her sentence, she took a step to the side before she felt her leg instantly plunge into what felt like wet, muddy quicksand. Her brother gasped, seeing his sister’s leg disappear into the inky blackness.

                “Liam!,” she cried, trying to pull her limb without any success, “I can’t move!”

                Her eldest brother ran for her, only to see her other leg disappear, followed by the entire lower half of her body. She felt herself becoming encased in the inky shadows around them. She saw her brother reach out to grab her, and she reached out her hands in kind. They reached and reached, Paige’s body slowly being consumed by the black. She heard her brother screaming her name, telling her to hold on while cursing whatever this strange blackness around them was.

                And then, she saw it begin to change. The darkness withdrew from Liam, the light of the street behind them glowing at Liam’s back, the details of the buildings and their surroundings becoming more visible. But, his voice started to become distant, his body and everything else in the alleyway shrinking from her view. At the same time, she continued to hear the whining of the dog they had found, but there was still no sign of him.

                “Paige! No, Paige! Let her go!”

                Liam’s voice was faint, but she could tell from the way his face twisted that he was screaming at the top of his lungs. The sensation of mud began to enclose her body like a cocoon, the scene of her brother and the alleyway continuing to grow smaller and smaller, as if becoming farther away. Her brother’s voice became barely a whisper, and she let out a shrill scream of her own. But no sound came forth from her lips. Even the dog’s barking had fallen silent.

                What was this sudden madness that had taken her? Was this all just some nightmare from which she would soon awaken? It seemed too sudden, too insane to be anything but. She continued to open her mouth to scream as the last vision of the street turned into nothing but a white dot, growing smaller than a far off star in the night sky. Finally, her very face felt like it was imprisoned in clay, her eyes forcefully falling shut, the rest of her body completely immobilized.

                There was then a violent swirling sensation around her as if her paralyzed form was thrown into a fast moving rotating door, spinning her wildly around and around. Her body was tossed about in the abyss like a ragdoll in a tornado, pain shooting through her as lightning through a tree.

                But she couldn’t open her mouth to cry out. She could not hear, she could not see. She could only feel these forces and pressures acting upon her.

                The torment seemed to last for hours it felt like, pushing her every which way into the nothingness of the void that had swallowed her. And then, that’s when she began to hear it. It was barely audible, but she began to hear the barking of the dog once more. It was only for a moment or two, but she heard it. That was when she felt one final violent push on her body, impacting with some sort of surface. She realized it felt soft and somewhat warm, something that was not there before.

                Her eyes were still sealed shut, but the rest of her body started to feel the weighty sensation drop off as though it were being stripped away. In fact, her entire body suddenly felt weightless, as though it were drifting. Her hand shifted, feeling a light pressure against it. Something akin to water, she thought. But, she was still able to breathe perfectly normally.  And then she felt something drift up her nose, something gritty and irritating. She sneezed, suddenly feeling a gentle sensation of drifting forward and down, until after a while, the sensation ceased.

                The sound of crashing waves entered her ears once more, only to die down to the flow of a gentle ocean tide, pulling in and out. She felt a surface underneath her motionless body, as though she were now lying on her stomach with her head turned just off to the side. The redhead started to feel warmth beginning to embrace her body and the touch of sand upon her fingers.

                The smell of ocean water and morning dew wafted into her nostrils. She shifted to get her bearings and perhaps open her eyes. But, she felt a sudden dizziness and kept her eyes shut. But, there was one thought that was clearly on her mind: what on earth had just happened to her?

                She felt a light tap on her back, followed with the sound of panting and a gentle woof.

                After a brief pause, she attempted to open her eyes once more, the young women met with the sound of a bark and the sight of the soft, sweet eyes of the mysterious dog. She said nothing, but was clearly wondering not only how she was here, but as to why the dog was with her as well.

                Paige grumbled, moving her hands sluggishly under her, feeling a sharp pain shoot through her body. She hissed, but continued to push herself upwards, realizing that the surface beneath her was a warm sandy beach. The dog barked at her once more and she shook her head, trying to shrug off the pain she was feeling.

                “It’s okay, I’m up, I’m up….just what are you doing here anyway?”

                Before she could fully stand up, the dog leaned in to lick her face, causing a compulsive chuckled from the young woman. She reached out to pet the dog upon its head, at which it replied with a soft huff and rubbed its nose along her arm.

                But, there was a better question that she should have asked, she thought. What was she doing here? And where was she now?

                One thing was certain to her when she finally got a good look at her new environment: Paige Churchill was nowhere near Manitoba, Canada. Nowhere near home.

…

To be Continued?

…

 


	2. A Lost Dog, A Lost Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paige finds she isn't in Canada anymore. But, where is she, exactly?

Chapter 2: A Lost Dog, A Lost Girl

                Paige was utterly stupefied for a few moments after the events that befell her replayed in her mind like an old film reel. Only a few moments before, she was with her brothers back home in the last legs of winter, and then suddenly swept away by some force she could only think of as completely unexplainable madness. She had no indication of where she was now, only that there was sand beneath her, it was blazingly hot, at least to her, and on top of that, she realized she was now soaking wet. Also, her pockets were empty. No cell phone, no keys, not a single object to be found. She looked down at her clothes that were dripping with water and smelled of salt, empty of personal contents.

                And then, she thought, there was the dog. It was following it that led her here. At first she began to wonder what would have happened had she not followed it, yet she had no reason to believe that something like this would happen. No sane person would, she reasoned. And certainly, it wasn’t the dog’s fault. Or was it?

                She glanced over at the hound, which was standing at her side, looking to her attentively. Did she honestly have any reason to believe at this point something such as that? Perhaps there was a connection; however she had spent little time with the creature to really feel comfortable making any farfetched conclusions. Paige looked to her surroundings once more, this time trying to determine what she could from what she saw.

                It was in the day, wherever she was, the sun just barely having risen from the sky. It was cloudless. Surrounding her on the shore were several crates, a number of them scattered randomly or haphazardly piled on top of one another. There were also little bits of gold-colored metal scattered in the sand and floating in the water just a few steps downwind of her. And, just ahead, Paige could see the outline of buildings clustered together in a small town.

                Well, at least she was some place where there were people, she thought.

                Her thoughts were then interrupted by a loud bark followed by the small pattering sounds of paws splashing at the water.  Paige saw that her furry companion had started wading in, and was looking back at her. Paige looked down at her clothes, frustrated. Granted, she was already wet for some reason, conceivably during her trip she came into contact with the water and washed up on shore?

                The dog barked at her again, starting to circle around a tiny metallic glint just above the surface of the gentle waves.

                “What is it, boy?”

                The dog replied with a robust bark, opening its mouth to clamp onto the tiny object that held its attention. The hound came bounding out of the water to meet the young woman, shaking itself dry. It came to sit at her feet. Instinctively, Paige knelt down and held out her hand to see if her new friend would show her what he found. He could just as easily insist on keeping it. Surprisingly, the hound acquiesced, depositing the small object into Paige’s dainty fingers.   With the other hand, she quickly petted the dog for being easily cooperative.

                “Good boy, Trusty,” she laughed softly, beginning to feel the object in her other hand, warm to the touch. It was sleek and a metallic gold color like the flecks of debris around the area, ball-like in shape, and easily small enough to be completely covered by her had. Upon closer inspection, she saw it had a small, shallow dip at one end, perhaps a small hole of a sort. There were also minute indentations running across the surface, making strange, archaic shapes.

                She had no idea what it was. Still, it had captured the dog’s attention, and looking along the beach, some of the debris seemed to be of the same material. She looked to her left, noticing farther down that there were also bits of wood, and a complete panel resting in the sand, perhaps the side of a box. She put the ball away in her pocket, and reached out. The panel of wood was partially covered in black powder, but very dry, and smelt a little like charcoal. Maybe it had been burnt, she thought.  What was this, she thought? And what were all the other crates? Most of them seemed very intact save for maybe a scrape or two.

                Perhaps after further investigation of the boxes, she could move into the town and find out where she was. She noticed many of the boxes had seals painted on them. They were written in English and other recognizable languages, prompting her to wrap her arms around one to take a closer look. However, her sweep was cut short before she could start reading, when she heard another bark from Trusty.  She saw this time he was impatiently waiting for her at the edge of the beach, near a path that seemed to lead into town.

                “I’ll be there in a minute, boy, hold on,” she assured the hound, beginning to read the first few letters. It was some sort of authorization seal, she started to see. And there was a picture bearing a coat of arms. She wasn’t sure, but she began to read the last line, only to have the dog interrupt her again with an impatient bark.

                “Hold on!”

                The dog yelped at her, as if protesting her insistence on staying. It approached her, making frustrated whining noises that prevented her from concentrating.  She quickly stood up in irritation, only to be met with another shot of pain up one side of her body. Paige growled from the sensation, shaking her head and sighing heavily.

                “You really can’t give me one second?”

                Honestly, the dog could probably just leave. But, she didn’t want to be without it. It was the thing that brought her here. And for all she knew it was her ticket home. Maybe. She wasn’t sure of anything yet. She finally took her hands away from the crates, glancing back to read a couple of words before the hound started to wander off.

                She followed after it, shaking her head as she went. She thought about the last two words she managed to read, which included the words ‘royal’, and ‘authority’. That really didn’t tell her much, actually. If the blasted dog had let her finish, she thought, she might have gotten an important clue about where she was. But, she was following him now and she had the intention of sticking with the creature.

                The path led to paved streets of stone crossing in a number of directions. So far, there was no sign of people. But, she could hear voices nearby mixed with the cry of gulls in the sky above her. She followed Trusty down the street until they reached a corner, at which point she stopped and looked down at her bedraggled state and huffed from the heat burbling through her wet clothes.  She would certainly be a sorry sight to anyone she happened upon she thought. No, she thought, she just needed to explain that she washed up on shore. Maybe she could ask for a telephone and she could call her brothers.

                But then something occurred to her that she found rather critical. As she had been walking into the town, there was no sign of any electric street lamps, electricity polls, wires, and most structures she had seen were made of wood and stone. And the warm air carried a strange array of smells, some pleasant, many others far less so. Several were unfamiliar to the Canadian.

                The dog had surprisingly slowed down at was patiently waiting with her at the street corner, where she scouted around from behind the building a few inches from her.  A few men were walking on the other street corner away from her direction, their backs turned. Some wore loose white shirts and leather boots with tanned pants. But, there were others more heavily dressed, wearing vividly colored coats with forked, tapering tails, fine black trousers, and what appeared to be white, high reaching socks and buckled shoes. Not something a person sees every day, she thought.

                But then, there was the back of their heads. Many had point tails, messy hair, but then, there were a couple in particular that caught her attention. What stood out, was that a couple of the men had tricorn hats, and one man, a notable distance from the others, walked in a more dignified manner, with white hair that was slightly tied at the back, with bunches tightly knotted into ghostly white curls.

                No way, she thought. Was one of those guys seriously sporting a powdered wig? It couldn’t be? And then she thought about the fact that others had those hats, and the fancy coats, and the buckled shoes.  This was certainly the silliest notion; perhaps this was all nothing more than a dream or something else. She quiet pinched herself, wincing for a moment. But, no, and quite frankly that didn’t always work anyway.

                She looked back to the hound, which was still waiting with her patiently.

                “Well, regardless of whether this is a dream or not, I should probably get some clothes that don’t make stick out like a soggy thumb,” she muttered.

                Seeing as they still had their backs turned, Paige snuck past them to the other side and turned down an alleyway, the dog following her this time. However, as soon as they turned into the alleyway, the dog barked and started to take the lead, forcing Paige to keep on the move for a couple of blocks or so down the streets.

                Could she get the dog to slow down for a moment or two?

                They fled past several buildings, most of them appearing small and residential in nature. The heat began to take a toll on Paige, however, and she was forced to stop. She could have sworn those men she saw earlier were quite heavily dressed, and maybe she was only a bit more so. How did they cope with the blistering humidity? She could only wonder.

                The hound stopped and approached her, whining and pressing its nose on her hand as she squatted down to catch her breath. She petted the dog to reassure it, but she herself was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, to say the least. The young woman turned her head to see she had stopped in front of a house with a fairly spacious area in front of it, with a line of clothes hanging out to dry. She looked at what hung there- shirts, pants, dresses. She spotted one that might fit her slender frame, although she might be a bit tall for it. Still, she thought, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

                She stood and looked around seeing that nobody else was coming or going from the area. And then she thought to herself about what she had just considered. Was she really going to steal someone else’s clothes? What if she was caught? What would she do and how we she explain herself? No successfully, she doubted anyone would believe her intentions were not malicious in nature. But they weren’t, she had no coin and quite frankly she needed something as soon as possible before someone spotted her and started freaking out, or at least acting towards her with great suspicion. And that would be an optimistic possibility, she thought.

                She looked again at the dress, a dusty brown in color. There were similar articles of clothing across the lines along with articles of men’s clothing. She tiptoed up to it, still cautiously looking around to make sure there wasn’t anybody watching. Carefully removing it from the line, she quickly pushed the adjacent pieces of clothing next to one another and slipped away as fast as she could for a few blocks, turning into another alley to wait for her canine compatriot. To her satisfaction, nobody had seen her and she had not been followed by another person.

                Of course, it occurred to her, once she found a place to change, she would need to find somewhere to deposit her regular clothing, or to find something to do with them. Just then, the hound caught up to her, cocking its head to one side.

                “You wouldn’t happen to know a place where a girl can get changed around here, do you?,” she asked it rhetorically. And then her shoulders tightened, thinking about the fact that she had just stolen from someone. She felt bad, sure, she argued, but her options here were limited. In the meantime, the dog looked at her blankly, wagging its tail. She sighed and took the dress and hand, scouting around for a concealed space.

                Moving down the alleyways, she slipped by a few more buildings and shadows of people preoccupied with their own lives. Where could she go, she wondered? If she didn’t find a place soon, someone would catch her and know she was obviously out of place. And then, well, she didn’t want to think about what would happen after that. In fact, she would prefer not to even think of it as a possibility. She was already feeling nervous after taking something that didn’t belong to her.

                After some searching, she found something that looked suitable for her needs.

                Paige sighed with relief, quickly ducking into the small open shed-like attachment to the side of a  rather under kept house, frantically looking around before switching clothes as fast as she possibly could before anyone would come and see her. The dog waited for her just outside, pacing back and force until she ran back out, dressed in her new obtained garbs, holding her old ones close to her. Which, she realized in retrospect wasn’t the best decision, as it dampened her new ones. She folded them together, carrying them over her arms as she quickly made distance between that area of strange town and somewhere else, with the dog still following alongside her.

                So, what was she to do now, she wondered. She had to find something to do with her old clothes, she thought. And she needed shelter, to find out more information about where she was, maybe get some other vital pieces of information. And then it occurred to her she had that little ball the dog gave her. She dug it out of her jacket pocket and placed it into a small pocket woven into the dress. What was that object? What was in that debris field, what did the remains originally comprise? It was something to ponder for later.

                She walked along, still a bit nervous in her pace, keeping her face turned away from people who passed by as she wandered down various paths. All the while that morning, she saw that wherever this place was, it felt very different. Not just the climate or the way the people dressed made her feel this way, for the architectural style seemed old, and the roads were all stone, uneven in their texture.

                The hound, Trusty, continued to be by her side, which was something reassuring to Paige. Why had the dog chosen to stay with her? Either way, she supposed she was grateful. That dog was the only thing she had any connection to. And it almost seemed as though it was looking out for her, even if she didn’t quite understand what it was thinking.  She felt the warm breeze causing the dress to flutter a bit, making her squirm a bit from the fact it didn’t quite fit her. It was a bit short for her, but then again she was quite tall.

                Which begged another question, all things considered. Why hadn’t anyone noticed her yet? She anxiously ran her hand through her short hair, feeling it was now only slight damp. The outside of her boots had also dried, but she still felt her feet splashing inside in a light coating of water.

                She still wasn’t in a most fitting state that was for sure. And she was still worried about what she would say once she was approached by someone.

                Then, she was interrupted by another loud bark from Trusty. He crouched, sniffing the ground before he leapt up, giving another bark before starting to bound away down a side street.

                “Wait! Trusty, wait for me!”

                She ran after it, finding her movement hampered by the weight of her wet jacket and other articles of her regular clothing. She tried her best to keep up with it, it stopping every so often as if to make sure she was still close behind.  They went on like this for a good fifteen minutes before the dog bounded around a corner. At this point, Paige had to stop and catch her breath once more, burdened by the accumulation of stress and strain on her person.

                If she didn’t keep moving, she thought, she might lose him.  Just around the corner and down the street, she could faintly hear two men’s voices, a baritone and a base, as they conversed with one another, with rather accented English accents.

                “We’ve been at this for hours, Quentin. He probably just ran off into the jungle. I wouldn’t be surprised it one of the wild things got him.”

                “I’ve had him for three years, Hugo!,” the other rebuked.

                “It’s just a dog, let him go. You can get another one if needed.”

                Wait, she paused. The two men from the sounds of things were searching for one man’s lost dog.  They couldn’t be talking about Trusty, could they? She heard Trusty start barking not too far away, quite incessantly and in a rather excited fashion.  She temporarily set her wet clothes down inside an open barrel, telling herself she would come back for them in a moment. The choice, in retrospect, may not have been the best decision. Peeking around the corner, she got a better point to see the scene unfolding.

                At the end of the street were the two men. Both seemed to be in their thirties, with one noticeably older, but taller looking than the other. The older one was more cleanly dressed than the younger, having well fitted coat around his loose fitting shirt and dark clothes. He saw the dog, which Paige noticed was just a few feet away from where she was watching.

                “Trusty? By god! Where did you go off to, boy?,” he gasped. The dog barked happily, wagging its tail. The younger scratched his head, messing with his tough locks of light brown hair.

                “Well, you’re a lucky one, I would have put my money on the darn dog having gotten himself eaten,” he chuckled, nudging at his elder companion.

                Ah, thought Paige. Trusty had caught the scent of his owner and was trying to find him. Well, that explained where he came from, sort of. It didn’t explain how she got here, but it was certainly something. But, in all likelihood, it meant Trusty was going back with his owner and would be leaving her to her own devices.

                “Well, then be glad you didn’t,” the older man retorted jestingly to his companion. Trusty barked at his owner before turning around and scurrying in Paige’s direction. Wait, thought Paige, what was the dog doing?

                However, the answer to her question was made clear when the dog peered its head around the corner and barked several times at her. Oh dear, thought Paige. She petted the dog quickly, unsure of what to do next. Well, she thought, she was bound to be noticed sooner or later. If not for the fact she looked like a ragged autumn tree, she guessed in this case it would be because of the dog.

                “What did you find, boy?,” the older man asked, curiously following the dog after a moment or so. Paige took a deep breath and gathered herself.

                She petted the dog before she turned around the corner, anxiously turning herself to face the two gentlemen in the alleyway. The dog came up right beside her, sitting very close to her and whining at her as she periodically looked back down at him.

                “Seems your dog found a friend!,” the younger man teased.

                “Hush, Hugo!,” the older man rebuked him, turning to Paige, “You’ll have to forgive my friend. He’s a bit of a rascal and forgets his manners.”

                Paige silently listened before she looked back down at the dog again.

                “Is…is this your dog, then?,” she asked hesitantly.

                “Yes, Trusty here is the family hound and we’ve been trying to find him for hours. Haven’t seen any sign of him until now, but I am quite thankful our search is over,” explained the older man, “Are you the one who found him? Or perhaps he was just passing you by on your way?”

                At first Paige didn’t respond readily. The younger man raised an eyebrow, not only noticing her nervous demeanor by her bedraggled appearance. The older man, at first being more occupied with being reunited with his dog, did not take a look, initially.

                “Are you alright, Miss?,” he asked her.

                Paige looked around, shaking her head and composing herself.

                “Well, as a matter of fact, I did…find him…”

                “Then I should be thanking you, dear lady. I…don’t believe we’ve met before…must be one of the new arrivals? All the same, you have my gratitude for returning him,” the man thanked her.  However, Paige had not finished her sentence.

                “…Yes, I did find him…,” she hesitated, finding herself nearly choking on her next few words and forgetting herself, “I found him when I washed ashore.”

                Washed ashore, she thought. It didn’t quite surmise what had happened to her. But she had found herself on the beach, soaking wet, what other conclusions would someone else draw?

                The older man was a bit taken aback at her words.

                “…Washed ashore?,” the older man squinted his eyes at her, taking notice of her damp hair and the sloshing sound her boots made, as well as a few spots on her dress that were damp, which unbeknownst to him were spots where her old clothes were pressed against her.

                “I…” Paige found herself struggling to communicate. Really, she thought, couldn’t she just spit out something intelligible? All she needed to do was say something to explain herself or… something.

                “There haven’t been any storms around in the past few days,” the younger man huffed, closing his eyes, “Still, with all the pirates swarming all over the islands as of late, I suppose there are other reasons…Not the first conclusion I’d come to , though.”

                The older man’s eyes widened; the dark tuft of a beard was almost ruffling from being startled.

                “It can’t be… my dear, you’re telling me you washed up here on the shore?”

                Paige gulped, nodding earnestly. Still, she had to stop and think for a moment. Did that one of those men just mention pirates? As in skull and crossbones…those kinds of pirates? No, she must have been letting her imagination run away with her after what she had seen today.

                “Have you gone to anybody for help? The guards? Anyone?,” The younger man asked inquisitively.

                Paige refocused quickly, shaking her head, no. The younger man shook his head. She sighed.

                “I’m sorry,” she asserted herself finally, finding words to explain herself, “But I’m very lost. Frankly, I don’t know what happened to me. All I know is one minute to the next, I was tossed into the sea and wound up on the beach nearby. I don’t have any money or anybody I know…here. And I don’t really know where to go to for help around here.”

                The two men were both a bit taken aback. They had been searching for a man’s dog, to discover that the person who had brought them back was some strange woman they had never seen before, which in and of itself wasn’t so strange where they lived, since they happened periodically. It was a colony, after all, they thought. But, it wasn’t everyday they see someone in such a harried state and just telling them that they washed up on the beach. 

                Well, thought the older man in particular, still, her story wasn’t unreasonable.  And if it was true, her demeanor wasn’t an unreasonable result of such a set of circumstances. Improbable, they certainly might be, nevertheless, he thought.  He looked down at his hound, which tilted its head and wagged its tail in anticipation.

                “I do owe you a debt for finding my hound…”

                The younger man perked up.

                The older man found himself hesitating, realizing that they had not introduced themselves through all of this, “Might I have your name?”

                “Paige. My name is Paige Churchill.”

                “I see,” he said, “Well, I have you to thank for returning my hound to me, madam. You seemed to have quite the ordeal…Perhaps you would do us the pleasure of accompanying my friend and I back to my home? I am sure my family and I can look after you, at least see to that you have a clear head before you proceed to set your affairs in order, I think.”

                “I… my…thank you… sir?”

                Paige found herself scrambling for words.

                “Quentin?,” the younger man asked.

                “Hugo,” he countered, “Whether what this woman says is true or not, it is quite obvious to me that she is in a lot of distress and requires help.”

                The younger one, apparently named “Hugo”, responded with a sigh, shrugging his shoulders.

                “You were never one to turn people away.”

                Hugo was honestly never a hard-hearted individual himself, either. Firm, and cautious, but not unkind. Still, he was somewhat wary of the whole situation. Curious, but wary.

                “Quentin” shook his head, turning his attention back to Paige.

                “Before we go, allow me to introduce myself,” he bowed slightly, “Dr. Quentin Gernsback.”

                The younger man shook his head and chuckled.

                “I am Hugo Bradley, and I am a friend of the good doctor who was just helping him searching for his missing hound. You’re rather lucky we found you, miss.”

                Paige nodded, quickly doing a curtsy to the best of her ability in her misfit dress.

                “Thank you… truly…I didn’t know where else to go…”

                She was rather lucky indeed, thought Paige. All things considered, the fact she just sort of stumbled into help was extremely fortunate. She certainly wouldn’t bet on having that kind of luck in the future. But still, there was the matter of learning where she was and what to do with herself until she could figure out the way home. If there was one.

…

To be continued?

…

 


End file.
